There are three tasks associated with defining schedules. The first is to define any programmed holidays. A check box is available next to each pre-defined holiday.
Holiday designations will make the AHU operate as if the day was a Sunday—in other words, Sunday schedules will be used to model the holidays. The next step is to define start-end schedules. These are the operating schedules for HVAC components that typically are operated based on a schedule, rather than based on sensed demand elsewhere in the system. These include AHU schedules, miscellaneous exhaust fan schedules, the schedules for building pressurization fans, and the minimum outdoor air damper schedule. There is also a fifth schedule for building occupancy. This varies from the AHU schedule in that the occupancy schedule is strictly the set of hours during which the building is occupied by its intended users. HVAC schedules are often configure to be wider, primarily to account for morning warm up and cool down periods. Minimum outdoor air schedules often align with HVAC schedules, but can be tighter (keeping minimum outdoor air off during morning warm-up and cool-down) or wider (24/7 in some cases, either appropriately or inappropriately).
To set start-end schedules, first define a new schedule using the blue “Add/Update Start-End Schedules.” Schedules that you create here can be used in multiple places. For example, you may decide to create a schedule called “HVAC Schedule” that could be applied to the AHU schedule, the Minimum Outdoor Air damper schedule, and the Miscellaneous Exhaust Fan schedule, in the event when all three of these are aligned. Start by giving the schedule a name. If you have already defined other schedules, you can select a pre-defined schedule to fill in the values below as a starting place for defining a new schedule. In the table below, define a daily start and stop time for weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays. At this time, if there are multiple start and stop periods in a single day, or variations in schedules between weekdays, those cannot be accommodated. Enter start/stop times in hours (0/24). For schedules that are on all day, use a start time of 0 and an end time of 24. For schedules that remain off all day, use a start time of 0 and an end time of 0. When you are done defining the schedule, hit the “Save Schedule” button, and then you can find your new defined schedule in the drop downs next to the 5 types of schedules prompted for you to define.
The next set of schedules are zone schedules. Each zone that was previously created was defined with some density of lighting, equipment and people. Each of those three internal loads requires a schedule to modify the fraction of that peak load at each hour. A table interface similar to that for start-end schedules is available to define zone schedules, that can similarly be linked to zone-by-zone loads once created. There are five default schedules available for quickly specifying the zone loads without creating new schedules, or these pre-defined schedules can be used as starting places for defining new schedules. In the Add/Update Available Schedules interface, choose “Select a Schedule to Preview Below”, and then you can add a name for a new schedule and modify existing values on the table. All values should be fracitons from 0 to 1, where 1 pertains to the full design load at the density specified for that load. A value is required for each hour.